Today OKs Gay Weddings

Gay marriage may still be a subject of hot debate elsewhere in the country, but NBC’s Today show has decided, with some outside prodding, where it stands: Same-sex vows are fine with them. For six years, the show has been running a series that offers an on-air wedding to couples willing to let viewers help select details down to the honeymoon location. One stipulation: “This opportunity is open only to currently engaged couples consisting of a male and a female.”

After inquiries from gay-rights activists and an article last week in The Advocate, the policy was changed at week’s end. A Today spokeswoman explains that the show has always strived to have the winning couple get legally married on the show. Previous weddings had taken place in New York or Anguilla, where local laws bar gay marriages, but this year’s contest is about “hometown” weddings—which might take place where gay weddings are permitted, notably Massachusetts.